126 MY ARCTIC JOURNAL 



level with the snow outside. Then I came to a hole at the 

 end of the passage and in the top of it, which seemed hardly 

 large enough for me to get my head through, and through 

 which I could see numberless legs. Mr. Peary called for me 

 to come, so the legs moved to one side and I wedged myself 

 into the aperture and climbed into a circular place about five 

 feet high, the floor of which, all of snow, was about two feet 

 higher than that of the tunnel. A platform one and a half 

 feet above this floor, and perhaps four feet wide in the middle 

 and two and a half feet at the sides, ran all around the walls 

 of the igloo, except that part in which the aperture or door 

 came up in the floor. The middle of this platform for about 

 five feet was the bed, and it was covered with two or three 

 tooktoo skins, which almost crawled away, they were so very 

 much alive. On this bed sat Tahtara's mother, tailor-fashion, 

 wath a child on her back ; another woman, younger by far, 

 and rather pretty, his wife ; and two children, about six and 

 eight years old ; and on the edge, with his feet resting on a 

 chunk of walrus, from which some hungry ones helped them- 

 selves whenever they wanted to, regardless of the fact that a 

 number of feet had been wiped on it, and that it was not only 

 frozen solid but perfectly raw, sat Tahtara himself, smiling and 

 saying, " Yess, yess," to everything that Mr. Peary said to 

 him. Mr. Peary had also taken a seat on the edge of this 

 bed, and the women immediately made room for me between 

 them ; but this was more than I could submit to, so, excusing 

 myself by saying that my clothing was wet from the drifting 



